Te ao Māori Minecraft world set to inspire Kiwi students

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 9 September 2019
– World-building game Minecraft and classroom version, Minecraft: Education Edition, have
inspired millions of children the world over. Now young
learners will get to explore the traditional world of Māori
in block form, with the brand-new Ngā Motu (The Islands),
commissioned for students to experience and build on life in
a Māori pā and learn more about Māori language and
culture.

“This week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori,
but if we want our indigenous language to remain a living,
and thriving, part of our society it’s crucial that
teaching and learning is carried throughout the year.
That’s why Microsoft is investing in resources that
inspire students to explore te ao Māori while having fun
and challenging their imaginations – this is how we create
a culture of lifelong learning,” said Anne Taylor,
Education Lead for Microsoft New Zealand.

Educators
across New Zealand are already using Minecraft to transform learning,
from learning programming with Hour of Code to designing sustainable
villages and even reconstructing Gallipoli in-game. While
Microsoft has previously released te reo Māori editions of
existing resources, such as last year’s Voyage Aquatic and
Hero’s Journey, this is the first time an official world
has been created in Minecraft: Education Edition especially
for Aotearoa. Game designer Whetu Paitai, of
Coromandel-based Piki Studios, was given just five weeks to
imagine a fun but educational teaching resource that
reflected Māori language, culture and heritage.

The
result was Ngā Motu, a truly immersive Minecraft world
where mobs of moa and kiwi flock around the palisades of a
traditional pā with a waka hourua floating in the harbour.
Students can build their own wharenui and learn words in te
reo Māori from friendly guides modelled on Paitai’s own
children and their friends, or via in-game exercises. The
game’s resource packs swap typical Minecraft swords for
more appropriate patu and soon intrepid voyagers will be
able to visit the taniwha living off the coast as the game
grows.

“We’re believers in learning being
organic, being able to explore all the elements, because
nothing in our lives exists in isolation. Our mission is for
everyone to be able to play these games and see more than
just what a waka is – they’ll be able to see how it fits
into that whole world,” Paitai said.Paitai was
supported by two professional translators, Hemi Kelly and
Piripi Walker, to translate the instructions and language
pack for the game. There were even some new words for some
of the in-game Minecraft items.

“It was important
to make sure te ao Māori was respected as its own being,
the mana and cultural IP of each artefact upheld and
maintained throughout the process,” Paitai said.

Soon Ngā Motu will reach an audience beyond New
Zealand, as Piki Studios is now an official member of the
Minecraft Partner Program, enabling it to add to the
resources available in the global Minecraft Marketplace. For
now, Minecraft: Education Edition will be available to
classrooms in New Zealand, as part of Microsoft’s Schools
Agreement that provides resources such as Minecraft:
Education Edition to every State and State-Integrated
school.

“Ngā Motu is a truly amazing resource for
Kiwi students and teachers and we know they’re going to
absolutely love exploring and building on this world,”
said Taylor.

“The creativity and attention to
detail with which Whetu has approached this project just
blew us away. What he’s created goes way beyond what we
could ever have expected.”

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